Powder Mountain

Drawing upon our work at beloved art organizations across the country, such as Storm King Art Center, we have been working with Powder Art Foundation (PAF) to create a wholly new type of cultural institution and way of engaging land art. A respect for the land, desire to heal past degradation, commitment to sensitive integration of all-season programming and art, and dedication to preserving the rugged spirit of Powder Mountain are driving efforts to articulate an actionable ecological vision and built out PAF's first phases art trails and land-based artworks.

As a former sheep pasture and logging site turned into active public ski mountain, gravel quarry, mountain biking park, and residential development, Powder Mountain has experienced substantial ecological degradation. A favorite of locals, it has also been the site of radical experimentation (being a pioneer in the sport of snowboarding) and a contagious DIY spirit. Building off this legacy, Powder Art Foundation engaged us starting in 2024 to put together a design framework for art siting, ecological conservation, amenities, arrival sequencing, and all-season programming that has had to be equally experimental and adaptable in the face of rapidly changing development and operational needs on the mountain. This includes a plan and design toolkit for a network of art trails that has been iteratively developed over the course of many site visits to Utah and up-close encounters with the mountain. This work is ongoing.